MANKATO — With all the space 6-foot-7 goaltender Michael Hrabal was taking up in front of his net and with the way his UMass teammates were blocking shots all night, it might have felt to Minnesota State that it was playing against an extra player on Saturday.
Truth be told, it was the No. 19 Mavericks who often had the extra guy, as they had eight power plays, including a five-minute major in the second period and four man-advantage situations in the third, including one last one that gave them a 6-on-4 advantage with their goalie pulled in the game’s final minute. But they weren’t able to convert on any of them and lost 1-0 to Massachusetts in a nonconference men’s hockey game before a crowd of 4,543 at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
“There are moments of truth,” Mavericks coach Luke Strand said. “Like it or not, some of our guys haven’t been put in that spot to put the Maverick logo on their back in their career here yet. And now is their time. So we’re going to keep growing and making sure that when those moments of truth happen that we’re just better.”
Hrabal, an 18-year-old freshman, made 32 saves for the shutout. Defenseman Samuli Niinisaari blocked seven shots and the rest of the Minutemen ate 21 more pucks for a grand total of 28 blocks to complete the series sweep and drop the new coach and his Mavericks to 2-2 after two weeks of play.
Another UMass rookie, forward Aydar Suniev, scored the game’s lone goal on a power-play blast from the right point that screened goalie Alex Tracy at 11:21 of the second period. Tracy finished with 14 saves as the Mavericks doubled up the Minutemen on the shot chart 32-15.
“The outcome’s not what we want, but the brand of hockey we played was better than we’ve played,” Strand said. “That was maybe one of our better games. (Special teams) we gotta keep tidying up. We gotta clean that part up. Specials are a privilege. So you gotta take advantage of the opportunity when you have that. But as far as a connected game and a suffocating style, that’s what we want to play like.”
Trying to bounce back from Friday’s 6-3 loss to UMass, the first loss of the season that followed an emotional season-opening sweep over in-state rival St. Cloud State, the Mavericks had plenty of Grade A chances and near misses around the net. Adam Eisele had a nice backdoor chance, and a blast by Sam Morton was saved in the game’s final seconds.
Morton led Minnesota State with six shots on goal. Eisele and Brian Carrabes each had five.
“There are a lot of positives to take away from it,” said Morton, MSU’s captain. “Obviously, we’ve got to work on scoring some goals — maybe be a little hungrier around the net, just working on our timing so we’re arriving at the right time, working on inside ice. … How can we be more efficient with our shots and create better looks?”
Moments after Suniev’s goal, the Mavericks had a five-minute major power play to work with and a prime opportunity to regain momentum and at least tie the game. But they failed to convert, mustering just one shot on goal during the stretch. In the final period, Minnesota State was unable to make the Minutemen pay for taking four consecutive penalties despite putting six shots on goal.
“It’s a learning process,” Morton said. “Yes, it’s frustrating in the moment of the game. It’s something we’ve got to reflect on and work on and actively work on in practice if we’re going to try to make progress. But in the moment, we just have to keep doing the things we’re doing.”
After opening the season with four straight games at home, the Mavericks will embark on their first road trip of the season next weekend with a nonconference series at North Dakota.
“There’s got to be growth,” Strand said. “Besides the outcome, there was growth tonight. And that growth has got to continue the right way. We want to play our best hockey at the right time of year. Do I want to win every home game? Absolutely. Did we do that? We didn’t. So we’ve got a job to do.”